Loons lose wild game, fall four games out of playoff spot

Published 4:06 am, Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The Great Lakes Loons' playoff hopes took another hit Tuesday with a 10-8 loss to the Bowling Green Hot Rods in Midwest League baseball before 4,013 fans at Dow Diamond.

The Loons fall to 29-28, which leaves them four games behind Fort Wayne (33-24) in the race for the final playoff spot with just 13 games left in the season. Great Lakes only has three wins in its last 10 games.

Both teams scored twice in the opening inning before the HotRods put up five runs in the second off Loons' starter Rick Anton to take the lead for good at 7-2.

Anton (1-1) suffered the loss as he allowed nine hits, seven runs (four earned), and nine hits in just two innings.

The Loons fought back with three runs in the third and one in the fourth, cutting the lead to 7-6. The key hit in the third was Jon Garcia's triple to center, which scored Leon Landry and Blake Dean.

Bowling Green added single runs in the fifth and eighth, before Steve Cilladi blasted his first home of the season in the eighth.

Both teams scored single runs in the ninth.

Landry went 4-for-5 with three runs scored while Garcia added two runs batted in.

The Hot Rods, who clinched a playoff spot in the first half, improve to 31-26 in the second half.

The Loons now host the first-place Dayton Dragons for a three-game series. Angel Sanchez (6-3, 2.57) is the Loons' probable starter for tonight's 7:05 p.m. game.